1987 in Edmonton, Alberta – Where My Mother’s Canadian Immigration Story Began

The Second Generation

In the late 1980s, my mom arrived to Canada as a single, Pakistani female international student to do her PhD at the University of Alberta. During this time, a white Albertan mother (Corrine) and daughter (Kathy) housed my mother for two years, without paying a penny or expecting anything in return. This year, I went back to Edmonton for work, and decided to stay with Corrine, who is now in her mid-late 80s. Corrine still lives in the house my mom lived in as a student, and almost everything is exactly the same still – from the stove, to the fridge, to pieces of décor that my mother gifted her 30 years ago. In this episode, I ask my mom questions about her immigration journey. I also had a chance to record a conversation with Corrine, and ask her why she welcomed international students to her home for free. Corrine explains that given international students went through so much, hosting them in her home was “just the right thing to do”.